Outlander Spices

We are a small, privately held company that provides exotic spices and gourmet foods to restaurants throughout the United States. We have twenty kiosks within gourmet grocery stores in the West Coast, and we are planning to launch a Web initiative so that consumers can buy our products over the Internet. We also plan to expand our kiosk operations into stores on the East and the Midwest over the next two years. This is an aggressive expansion plan and we need to find investment capital to ensure its success.

 

In the following report, you will find an overview of the project team members, a justification for the project, the details of our progress in this initiative, and a summary of the outstanding issues we still need to resolve.

 

The project team

The Expansion Project group is currently made up of six employees and four outside employees. This mix of internal and external people provides a balance of viewpoints and expertise that is necessary for the success of a project of this scope. The names, positions and responsibilities of the six employees assigned to this project are listed below.

 

Ann Salinski, VP Financial Services

Ann’s role is to oversee the financials for this project. She acts as the gatekeeper for all expenditures and has the final say on any cost overruns for the project. Ann is one of the founders of Outlander Spices, and she performs this financial management role in addition to her other duties at the company.

 

Jack Thomas, VP Sales

Jack’s role is to ensure that the sites we choose for expansion will maximize sales and profits while minimizing the need to hire additional sales staff. Jack also works with Aileen in Marketing to ensure that we have a successful sales rollout.

 

Elise Sechan, Manager, Information Technologies

Elise’s role is to provide technical direction and assistance for the Web initiative. Elise will provide the Requests for Proposals to companies bidding on the Web project, and she will coordinate the selection of a Web services provider. She will also oversee the team assigned to create the Web site, and she will manage any consultants we use to implement the Web solution.

 

Aileen MacElvoy, Director of Marketing

Aileen’s role is to oversee market research and the creation of any collateral required by the Sales force. She will also oversee all marketing communications with customers and vendors, as well as act as the project spokesperson for the press and other interested parties.

 

Ron Timmons, Senior Buyer

Ron’s role is to ensure that the spices and teas we sell are appropriate for the markets we are entering. He will analyze the market research reports to determine which spices and teas are in high demand in each of the regions into which we plan to expand. Ron also will monitor the data on Web purchases and buying trends in the new markets. In addition, he will work with our vendors to ensure that the supply of teas and spices supports the increased sales we expect from this initiative.

 

Kim Leong, Customer Service Representative

Kim’s role is to oversee customer service support to new and current customers. He will monitor the demands on our current system and work with Elise to specify upgrades to our telephone system. Kim also will play an integral role in determining the requirements of the online ordering system, and he will oversee the creation of a training initiative and documentation for the new system.